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The Morning Routines of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and 5 Other Successful Leaders

Waking up in the morning can be difficult sometimes, however if you get in the habit of a solid morning routine you can set yourself up for success. A morning routine doesn’t always mean waking up at 5 a.m. and heading straight to the gym either — unless your Richard Branson, of course. In fact, morning routines have different definitions for everyone and it’s important to figure out what works best for you.

Not sure where to start? If you’re in need of a little inspiration, find out the routines of some of the world’s most successful people and use their tactics to create your own. To learn more, here are the morning routines of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and five other successful leaders.

Elon Musk and his 6 Hour Sleep Rule

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has his own way of doing things. While he typically tends to fall asleep on the late side, averaging six hours of sleep at night, Musk makes sure he’s up by 7 a.m. so he can jumpstart his day.

The first thing he starts with are “critical emails,” as he calls them. After 30 minutes of emailing, Musk typically skips breakfast but grabs a coffee, showers and heads into the office.

Mark Zuckerberg, Late Riser

Upon waking up at 8 a.m., the Facebook founder goes straight to his phone — before even putting in his contact lenses — to check his Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

Three days a week, Mark Zuckerberg will opt for a quick workout or run in the morning, sometimes bringing along his dog, Beast. He’ll have a quick breakfast, get changed in his typical grey t-shirt and jeans and head into Facebook headquarters.

Oprah Winfrey

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey has a jam-packed morning schedule. Without using an alarm because she simply “doesn’t believe in them,” Winfrey’s body clock typically wakes her up between 6:02 and 6:20 a.m., where she immediately brushes her teeth and takes her dogs outside.

By 6:45 a.m., she’s making a chai tea or cappuccino and heading down to the gym in her home at 7 a.m. She’ll finish up her workout with 10 to 20 minutes of meditation where she’ll then proceed to eat a healthy breakfast (usually boiled eggs or multigrain toast) and go over her schedule for the day.

No Alarm Clock with Arianna Huffington

Like Winfrey, Arianna Huffington is also a nonbeliever in alarm clocks. Typically, Huffington, a major advocate for sleep, will get at least eight hours of shut eye every night so her body naturally wakes her up in the mornings.

Instead of hopping on her smartphone, Huffington takes a few moments of mindfulness with some deep breathing and intention setting. While she typically skips out on breakfast, she will indulge in a morning cup of joe.

Early Morning Productivity with Richard Branson

Virgin’s Richard Branson is a very early riser, getting up at 5 a.m. every single day. And once he’s up, Branson goes straight to getting in a workout, either playing tennis, going for a bike ride, running or kitesurfing. After some cardio, Branson spends his morning with his family eating breakfast.

After getting some fuel, he’ll answer emails, post on his blog and read the news before getting started on everything else.

Tony Robbins Intense Mornings

Tony Robbins revs up the intensity for his mornings. Because his schedule varies, Robbins doesn’t have a set wake up time everyday. However, once he’s up, he’ll typically jump in a plunge pool at one of his homes or if it’s available, hop into a cryotherapy tank. (That’s one way to really wake you up.)

Robbins’ rule of thumb for his morning routines is to make sure you have at least ten minutes — “I made a deal with myself: If you don’t have 10 minutes for yourself, you don’t have a life,” he explained in an interview. After his quick dip, Robbins will practice a few minutes of mindfulness, including breathing, expressing gratitude and praying. Afterwards, he’ll “fuel up” with some protein-heavy breakfast that’s typically fish and salad.

Jeff Bezos Morning Routines

Jeff Bezos, officially the richest person in the world, is another successful leader who doesn’t believe in alarm clocks. Like Winfrey and Huffington, Bezos wakes up naturally every morning and begins his day with a healthy breakfast that he enjoys with his wife.

He’ll then spend the rest of his morning with his wife and kids, blocking out his morning schedule and making sure he has no meetings until the afternoon just so he can do so.

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